FDOT moving forward in widening sections of US Highway 1

By Steve Estes

Florida Department of Transportation will be unveiling its five-year work program Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. in the Marathon Government Center.

In that program is included a major widening project on US 1 through the business district of Big Pine Key and a major resurfacing project from Baypoint to Upper Sugarloaf Key.

The three-laning of Big Pine is expected to go out to bid in the next couple of months with a start date early next year.

The project is expected to take about a year.

When completed, US 1 will be widened to accommodate additional turn lane on the west end of the island from the existing three-lane section to connect to the causeway leaving the island on that end. Due to bridge restraints, the road will converge back into two lanes prior to crossing the causeway.

The three-lane will also extend slightly more eastward than its current location toward the curve at St. Peter Church. There won’t be turn lane, under the current configuration, in front of the old Coconut Farm store where the new National Key Deer Refuge Visitor Center is planned due to right-of-way constraints.

Officials promised that at least one lane would remain open through the island at all times, and that business access would be maintained at all times.

Officials have been planning the three-lane project for more than a decade, but first had to come to agreement on the Habitat Conservation Plan with US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The state’ís new future work plan also includes what is promising to be a controversial resurfacing project that will cover all of Lower Sugarloaf Key.

DOT currently plans no changes to the footprint of the road through Lower Sugarloaf, which has local residents a little miffed.

The Sugarloaf Shores Property Owner’ís Association wants DOT to make some changes to the proposal, particularly in the area in front of the commercial complex that houses Sugarloaf Lodge, tiki bar, restaurant, an auto repair, real estate offices and a marina. That complex is directly across the street from the entrance to Lower Sugarloaf’ís largest residential area.

Residents want DOT to work on ingress and egress issues at the commercial complex so they, and drivers using US 1, aren’ít in quite so much direct competition with users of the commercial areas.

Sugarloaf residents enlisted the help of the Monroe Board of County Commissioners to get DOT to the table before the project gets off the ground to talk about the issues they have.

The BOCC agreed to that but hasn’ít yet set up the meeting.

The DOT plan also includes several new segments of the Overseas Heritage Trail over the next few years. The segment from Ramrod Key to central Big Pine is underway now, with the east end of Big Pine, Spanish Harbor and soon-to-be Scout Key on the boards.

Within this work plan are also proposals to reconnect the old Spanish Harbor Bridge as part of the heritage trail. Further out are plans to cross Bahia Honda Bridge with the trail and further out the crossing of Niles Channel, a proposal planners call one of the toughest yet in completion of the 106-mile length of the trail

Wednesday’ís meeting is open to all. Limited copies of the state’ís 5-year transportation plan for District Six, which includes Monroe County, will be available.